Indiana
COLUMN: No. 16 Indiana women’s basketball shows its depth in close 77-71 victory over Illinois
No. 16 ranked Indiana women’s basketball picked up a win in its second conference game of the season against Illinois 77-71.
Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall was packed, even with students on break. All 11,600 fans were presented with an amazing game that ended with entertaining possessions and stellar offense that went down to the final seconds.
Illinois came into Sunday’s game with a 6-5 record and without a Quad 1 or Quad 2 win. It was a perfect opportunity for the Fighting Illini to get a big win.
The storyline coming into this one was the matchup of dominant forwards. Illinois senior forward Kendall Bostic and Indiana graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes were set to battle down low. Bostic finished nine-for-18 from the floor with 18 points in a tremendous effort for Illinois. Holmes put up a scintillating 30 points and seven rebounds.
Indiana’s performance proves that they do not need all five starters at their best in each game to win in the Big Ten. Fifth-year senior guard Sara Scalia and senior guard Sydney Parrish struggled Sunday, scoring a combined 7 points while going two-for-16 from the field.
With Parrish and Scalia unable to produce their typical scoring outputs, senior guard Chloe Moore-McNeil stepped into a rather unfamiliar role. Although she has regressed from 9.5 points per game last season to 7.8 this season, Moore-McNeil had her way Sunday. She scored 19 points, shooting seven-for-11. Moore-McNeil’s primary role this season has been to facilitate and get primary offensive playmakers in position to score, but Sunday’s performance proves she can score when relied upon.
A part of the offensive game plan for Indiana this season has been having Holmes play the first five or so minutes of the game to diagnose the defense and then putting in sophomore forward Lilly Meister. Meister has excelled in her 11.6 minutes per game, averaging 4.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. Sunday, Meister was beating out double teams under the basket early in the first half. She adds small bunches of points — like the 8 points she scored Sunday — in Holmes’ breaks on the bench. If Meister keeps up the pace, her freshness will be a key piece for Indiana in the Big Ten.
Sophomore guard Yarden Garzon always has an effect on the game when she is on the floor. But Sunday, it wasn’t shooting — Garzon had five assists and six rebounds. While she was ultimately responsible for the dagger that sent the Illini home with the loss, her impact in facilitating the offense and rebounding the ball allowed the Hoosiers to notch their 10th consecutive victory. She finished with 12 points on four-for-seven shooting with two 3-pointers.
With the win, a happy Indiana head coach Teri Moren took the podium postgame, addressing the packed Assembly Hall crowd.
“What a great crowd, I tell ‘em all the time, they get us to the finish line with their energy that they give us, they know when to cheer, they know when we need them the most,” Moren said. “We are so grateful they spend some of their New Year’s Eve Day with us and they are so important to the success that we had.”
The Hoosiers now sit at 2-0 in the Big Ten, but as it is said all the time in college basketball, the road does not get any easier. The Hoosiers take on Michigan at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Bloomington with the game being televised on the Big Ten Network.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa), columnist Ryan Canfield (@_ryancanfield) and photographer Olivia Bianco (@theoliviabianco) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s basketball season.
Indiana
Attempted murder suspect arrested in Indianapolis for Bloomington shooting
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — A Bloomington man was arrested Wednesday in Indianapolis on an attempted murder charge after police say he fired seven to eight rounds into a white GMC SUV occupied by three adults and four children last month in Bloomington before fleeing the area.
A news release issued Thursday from the Bloomington Police Department said members of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department’s special weapons and tactics team took Kafern P. Johnson, 32, into custody near the intersection of West 84th Street and Allison Avenue in Indianapolis without incident.
The arrest came more than two weeks after the June 23 shooting in the 1000 block of North Summit Street. That’s in a residential area next to Crestmont Park in Bloomington.
Monroe County Central Emergency Dispatch received 911 calls at 7:41 p.m. June 23 reporting gunfire in the area.
Responding patrol officers and detectives determined Johnson had fired into the SUV following a verbal fight with the vehicle’s driver. Police said the dispute stemmed from an argument over a relationship.
No injuries were reported despite the number of people inside the vehicle.
Following his arrest, Johnson was taken to an IMPD facility for questioning and later booked into the Marion County jail. On Thursday morning, he was booked into the Monroe County jail.
The release said Johnson could face felony charges of attempted murder, criminal recklessness with a firearm, and pointing a firearm. No formal charges have yet been filed, according to online court records.
Bloomington police asked anyone with additional information to call 812-349-3324.
This story was formatted for WISHTV.com using AI-assisted tools. Our editorial team reviews and edits all content published to ensure it meets our journalistic standards for accuracy and fairness.
Indiana
FAIRFIELD NATIVE AND HIS WIFE FOUND DEAD IN THEIR NEWBURGH, INDIANA HOME
Fairfield native, David K. Wells, 69, and his wife Aileen, were found dead inside their home in Newburgh, Indiana, Monday night. Warrick County Sheriff Michael Wilder said that deputies responded to the residence just before 8:00 p.m. after dispatch received a call around 7:40 p.m. from a friend of the family requesting a welfare check. When officers didn’t get an answer at the door, they entered through the back of the home and found the couple deceased. Officers cleared the home and waited for detectives to arrive. Investigators also obtained a search warrant to do a further examination of the residence. Authorities were able to notify family members and conduct interviews to gather additional information. Sheriff Wilder said investigators believe the couple had been dead for less than 24 hours before they were found. He also said there is no indication of any forced entry or an intruder. Sheriff Wilder has not made a formal determination as to what happened. Autopsies for the couple were scheduled for yesterday morning to help determine a cause. David Wells grew up in Fairfield and graduated from Fairfield High School in 1975. He had a long career in television commercial production in Evansville and had more recently operated the Cigar! Cigar! tobacco store in Evansville.
Indiana
Indiana sees significant drop in number of homeless veterans
INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — Indiana saw a significant decline in veteran homelessness last year, despite the total number of homelessness rising across the state.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) annual estimation of the homeless population, known as the Point in Time (PIT) count, Indiana saw an 18.7% decline in veteran homelessness in 2025 compared to the year before.
That marked the second-largest decline of any state by percentage.
Helping Veterans and Families (HVAF) of Indiana specializes in assistance for veterans facing homelessness. CEO Emmy Hildebrand told News 8 the formula that’s finding success is the same that works with any at-risk group: housing and wrap-around services.
Hildebrand said that the formula needs support from the state.
“There is no state funding supporting homeless services in our state,” Hildebrand said. “And very little local funding outside Indianapolis.”
Safety net programs have faced budget cuts, with lawmakers eliminating funding for the Housing First program in 2025. It supported organizations helping people secure stable housing.
And housing advocates have criticized Indiana’s public camping ban as essentially making it illegal to be homeless.
HVAF client Terri Massey, a 34-year-old Navy veteran, said the stigma of being homeless was the most difficult challenge to overcome.
“I’m still trying to provide for my kids,” Massey said “I’m (not) out here being lazy or not trying to do better.”
Massey was working, supporting her children, but found herself sleeping in cars and hotel rooms because she didn’t have stable housing. “Going to that work, working 10 hours, leaving, going to sleep in my car.”
HVAF helped place Massey in a permanent apartment. HVAF also placed Massey in a different kind of “bootcamp” years after her time in the military, learning job skills. She’s looking for a job, but thankful to do it from a place she can call home.
“I am beyond grateful and thankful. I literally pray and thank God every day,” Massey said. “Because for the longest I felt like I was alone. And I had to figure everything out by myself. I didn’t.”
It’s estimated that seven percent of Indiana’s homeless are veterans. Hildebrand said there are federal funds for organizations working with veterans, which support HVAF’s programs.
Still, finding permanent housing is a struggle.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, for every 100 extremely low-income households in Indiana, just 34 rental homes are affordable and available.
“There are so many people on the bubble that are just one emergency away from living in their car, staying with friends and family, or living on the streets because we don’t have the appropriate system here in Indiana,” Hildebrand said.
Hildebrand said lawmakers assured her they would work to support homeless services, but she hasn’t seen any drafted legislation that might be introduced in the next legislative session.
Across the country, about one in 25 people experiencing homelessness previously served active duty in the armed forces, according to numbers from HUD. Veteran homelessness declined 56% between 2009 and 2025.
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